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The origin of many literary modes and genres is lost in the
mists of time (that of epic, for example), or is associated with
the names of originators whose actual works have disappeared (like
those of Thespis, the creator of Greek tragedy) or survive only in
fragmentary form. The origin of pastoral, however, is well
documented. For all extents and purposes, pastoral was invented by
the Greek poet Theocritus around 275 BCE, and his chief pastoral
poems have survived more or less intact for over 2200 years.

The pastoral mode incorporates an ironic perspective, in that
what is represented (ostensibly the life and love of herdsmen or of
those who have taken refuge among them) means much more than what
appears on the pleasant …

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